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10 Actors You Forgot Starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Tom Hiddleston, these are all actors who have excelled in media outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some of them branched out after breaking out in the MCU while others found success before the MCU and after it. But at the end of the day what they’re most well-known for is their respective Marvel characters. They’ve just been too perfectly cast with too many standout moments in too many movies for it to go any other way. But these next actors? They barely got a chance to stand out and, thus, have had their roles forgotten by even many of the property’s biggest fans.
We tried to avoid actors who haven’t had much screentime yet still managed to make an impression. For instance, Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart in Iron Man and Iron Man 2. It was a pretty small supporting role both times, but she had a few standout scenes that really ingrained her in the viewer’s memory.
10) Jenny Agutter in The Avengers & Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Jenny Agutter is most well-known for playing Nurse Alex Price, the secondary protagonist in An American Werewolf in London. And rightly so, because she imbues her role with a ton of empathy and humanity. Furthermore, fans of the Chucky franchise are certain to remember her as Joanne Simpson, the foster mother of little Andy Barclay in Child’s Play 2.
But in the MCU she plays Councilwoman Hawley, a high-ranking member of the World Security Council, which is in charge of overseeing S.H.I.E.L.D. So, naturally, she shares most of her scenes with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. First, she appeared via hologram during a meeting in The Avengers. Then she got an even showier role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, culminating in a great scene where Black Widow takes on her appearance to get closer to the duplicitous Alexander Pierce.
9) Ty Burrell in The Incredible Hulk
Ty Burrell is an incredibly ranged performer. Just look at how lovable his Phil Dunphy was on Modern Family and how contemptible his Steve Marcus was in Dawn of the Dead.
But in between those two roles there were some thankless ones, like Dr. Leonard Samson in The Incredible Hulk, which can be summarized as “third wheel.” He was there to be the man who loses out to Bruce Banner when it comes to Betty Ross’ affection. Many aspects of The Incredible Hulk were forgotten for a while, until She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Captain America: Brave New World brought back some of its biggest characters. But, even when Betty finally did return in Brave New World, there was no sight or mention of Samson.
8) Ashley Johnson in The Avengers
Ashley Johnson has been in the industry since her age was in the single digits. She had a major role in the sixth and seventh seasons of Growing Pains, voiced a character in 40 episodes of the animated Jumanji show, and voiced Gretchen Grundler throughout four seasons and four movies (one of them theatrical) of Recess.
In The Avengers, Johnson reteamed with Dollhouse creator Joss Whedon (she had been in two episodes of that show) to play Beth, a waitress who shows up in a few shots as she witnesses the Chitauri attack and is later interviewed by a news station. They also collaborated later in the year on Much Ado About Nothing.
7) Benjamin Bratt in Doctor Strange
Benjamin Bratt had been working consistently for over 25 years before his small role as former Kamar-Taj student Jonathan Pangborn. He’d had major roles in Blood in Blood Out, Demolition Man, Miss Congeniality, Traffic, Catwoman, and voiced the main villain in Despicable Me 2.
Yet in Doctor Strange he’s relegated to just two scenes, and neither is particularly memorable. One is him telling Stephen Strange about Kamar-Taj and hinting at The Ancient One while the other is Baron Mordo stealing his powers, and nothing ever came of that.
6) Jenna Ortega in Iron Man 3
Jenna Ortega is one of the biggest stars in the industry right now thanks to her iconic work in horror or horror-adjacent projects such as Netflix’s Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Scream (2022), Scream VI, and X. But before all that she played the Vice President’s daughter in Iron Man 3.
Granted, it was a non-speaking role, but making your film debut in such a highly anticipated sequel is still pretty telling of just how bright her future was. Prior to this her only roles were in an episode of Rob Schneider’s sitcom and CSI: NY.
5) Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in Thor: The Dark World
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is always a scene-stealer, even when he’s not being given the best roles. For instance, his relatively thankless roles in big projects such as Congo, The Mummy Returns, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and, yes, Thor: The Dark World, in which he plays the roided-out Dark Elf Algrim the Strong aka Kurse.
Thankfully, Akinnuoye-Agbaje has been a bit more appreciated in recent years. For instance, a few years after The Dark World, he had a much better role as Killer Croc in Suicide Squad. Still underutilized, but better than Kurse. Up next for him is a big role in the highly anticipated third season of Euphoria.
4) Kate Mara in Iron Man 2
In Iron Man 2, we think that Kate Mara’s U.S. Marshal is going to be another Christine Everhart. So does Tony Stark, but he’s mistaken, as she’s there to serve him papers.
Given how Mara’s character isn’t even named, it makes sense that plenty of people have forgotten she’s even in the movie. She’s submitted much more memorable performances elsewhere, including in the same year’s 127 Hours as well as the subsequent The Martian, Megan Leavey, and House of Cards.
3) Olivia Munn in Iron Man 2
Initially, Olivia Munn was supposed to have a larger role in Iron Man 2 as a woman named Rebeca, with whom Tony Stark has a one-night stand. That ended up getting cut, but she was kept around and given the smaller cameo role as Chess Roberts, the reporter covering the Stark Expo towards the beginning of the movie.
This was towards the beginning of Munn’s acting career, after having spent a few years co-hosting G4’s Attack of the Show. Since Iron Man 2 she has had prominent roles in HBO’s The Newsroom, Apple TV+’s Your Friends and Neighbors, and the films The Predator, Office Christmas Party, and X-Men: Apocalypse.
2) Jenna Coleman in Captain America: The First Avenger
There are a few people in Captain America: The First Avenger who blew up afterwards. Richard Armitage and Natalie Dormer, for example. But if there’s one whose presence has been forgotten, it’s Jenna Coleman.
Prior to this, Coleman had a major role on the British soap opera Emmerdale, but it wasn’t until a year after this 2011 movie that she got her big break as Clara Oswald in Doctor Who. Notable projects after that point include Victoria, The Sandman, the romantic drama Me Before You, and Wilderness.
1) Julie Delpy in Avengers: Age of Ultron
If any performer on this list was criminally underutilized, it was Julie Delpy in Avengers: Age of Ultron. As Madame B, she’s relegated to a single flashback sequence in the Red Room.
The brilliant Delpy got her start in French cinema, most notably in the Three Colours trilogy. In terms of what she’s most known for, that would be for starring opposite Ethan Hawke is the Before trilogy, three of the very best romantic films ever made. Delpy also wrote, directed, produced, and starred in 2 Days in Paris and its sequel, 2 Days in New York.
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